Ethic Soup

Thanksgiving Family Reunions: Say a Little Prayer Before Relatives Gather

 

 

 

A Prayer Before Family Reunions

God, I will be seeing my family soon,

And it has been so long since I have been with them.

I am a different person now, and I am sure that they are too.

Yet, I still feel the same hurts that never went away,

The same wounds that never healed,

The same grudges that were never settled,

And the same anxiety of falling into old habits.

Fill me, Lord, with your peace, forgive my faults as I forgive theirs,

And help me love my family as I know you love them.

Bless our time together and strengthen the bonds between us

That we may grow in love.

Amen

 

 

 

 

 

The above prayer (modified) was written by Diana Macalintal originally appearing in Today's Parish Minister, December, 2007.
 

Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation

 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION

Washington, DC -- October 3, 1863

 

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful field and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Autumn Mosaic of Changing Leaves

Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.

Emily Bronte

 

It is only here in large portions of Canada that wondrous second wind, the Indian summer, attains its amplitude and heavenly perfection -- the temperatures; the sunny haze; the mellow, rich delicate, almost flavoured air: Enough to live -- enough to merely be.

Walt Whitman

A Halloween Must: The Witches' Spell From Shakespeare's Macbeth

 

The Witches Spell

Act IV, Scene 1

Macbeth (1606)

by William Shakespeare

A dark Cave. In the middle, a boiling Caldron. Thunder.

Enter three witches.

            WITCH 1. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.

            WITCH 2. Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin'd.

            WITCH 3. Harpier cries 'tis time! 'tis time!

 

WITCH 1.Round about the caldron go;

In the poison'd entrails throw

Toad, that under cold stone,

Days and nights has thirty-one;

Swelter'd venom sleeping got,

Boil thou first i' the charmed pot!

 

Autumn in the Garden

   
 
Autumn arrives next week, with the official first day of Fall on September 23, 2011.

Tree leaves are beginning to turn colors, from green to yellow, orange , red and brown. Watching their change, I reminisce about my grade school days when I would collect the prettiest leaves I could find and my mother and I would dip them in a pot of hot paraffin wax, colorless and translucent, to seal and preserve them.

The next day I would take them  to school as a gift for my teacher and each year my teacher would decorate the classroom, especially the big bulletin board, with my leaves.

Now when the leaves fall, I'll make good compost after the lawn mower chops them during the last few grass trimmings. The next time the leaves that are collected from the lawn they will be used as mulch, after dividing the perennials and reworking their beds for next season. A cover of thick mulch protection guards against drying winds and frost heaving.

Thankfully, working in an Autumn garden is mostly chores in anticipation of next Spring. If it weren't for that fact, an Autumn garden would be too sad. As it is, the dying flowers remind us of our own limited time on earth and our thoughts turn to death.

 

                                                       

 Autumn in the Garden

by Henry van Dyke

 

Autumn Meditations: A Short Prayer, Carl Sandburg and John Keats Poems

 
An Autumn Prayer 

We bless you,

God of Seed and Harvest

And we bless each other

That the beauty of this world

And the love that created it

Might be expressed through our lives

And be a blessing to others

Now and always

Amen

 

A Swimmers Prayer: A Teen's Poem from "Teen Ink"

 

Creative talent is an asset we need to encourage every time we can, especially when found in kids. To not do so is unethical. A little recognition goes a long way in inspiring the talented to continue their  

A Short Swimmer's Prayer

 

The title of this post, "A Short Swimmer's Prayer," along with the above photo, rather infers that what follows is a prayer for diminutive swimmers. It is not.

Perhaps a better title would be "A Swimmer's Brief Prayer." No, some might think it's a dialog with God about ones swimming briefs. Although the Supreme One invites prayers about anything, praying about one's briefs just seems a bit frivolous. Not so much, if you're worried that your briefs could come off while you're swimming.

Maybe it should be "A Fast Swimmer's Prayer." But then again, that sounds as if it's a prayer for fast swimmers. Perhaps the fast swimmers have a stronger history of praying, something slow swimmers might consider.

It is the prayer itself that is short, brief and fast -- especially when compared with the next swimmer's prayer to be posted, which is a longer verson.  Enough already. Here it is:

 

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John

Bless this pool we swim upon

Help us swim with zeal and zest

Help us swim our very best.

Amen 

(So be it)

 

CLICK AND READ: "A Swimmer's Prayer: A Teen's Poem from Teen Ink"

A Few Needed Prayers: To Give Aid, To Eradicate Misery

 
When you cannot hide from awareness of the world's natural disasters, and then add to that knowledge of all the wars being fought in the world today...what do you do?

It's easy to put a few dollars in an envelope and send it off to a charity or two to help. It's harder to force yourself to try to not forget, taking the time and soul-energy to offer up a prayer or two. Both kinds of giving are sorely needed, along with acknowledgement of our great good fortune not to personally be in the middle of one of those natural disasters or wars, if you are so lucky.

For those not as fortunate as yourself, consider the following two prayers:

  
 

 Prayer to Eradicate Misery

We pray to God to eradicate all the misery in the world:

that understanding triumph over ignorance,

that generosity triumphs over indifference,

that trust triumphs over contempt, and that truth triumphs over

falsehood.

 
 

Buddhist Prayer to Give Aid 

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

May I become at all times, both now and forever

A protector for those without protection

A guide for those who have lost their way

A ship for those with oceans to cross

A bridge for those with rivers to cross

A sanctuary for those in danger

A lamp for those without light

A place of refuge for those who lack shelter

And a servant to all in need.

 

  

 

 by Sharon McEachern

  Artist & Blogger

 

A Poem for Elizabeth Taylor's Passing

 

At the funeral of Elizabeth Taylor, her friend, actor Colin Farrell read   from Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem, "The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo," which includes the lines "Give beauty back, beauty, beauty, beauty, back to God, beauty's self and beauty's giver."

In this poem, Hopkins echoed the Bible verse that every hair of our head is numbered. Matthew 10:30 says "And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

An English Jesuit priest, Hopkins (1844-1889) was renowned for his creative use of language and rhythm. For example, this passionate phrase: "Or a jaunting vaunting vaulting assaulting trumpet telling."

In the New York Review of Books, Brad Leithauser said: "Of the English poet Gerard Manley Hopkins it might be said that he's difficult only if you try to understand him. A reader might reasonably choose not to."

I agreed with him on my first reading of the poem, read silently to myself. And then I found an absolutely wonderful tape of Richard Burton -- the man Elizabeth Taylor married twice -- reading the poem. His reading was brilliant, breathtaking. And I understood, and was moved.